It turns out that the majority of the Bics for Her pens were sold in smaller quantities and for a higher cost than non-gendered pens with the same product specs.

Bic for Her Pens cost up to 70 per cent more than Bic’s identical non-gendered pens. The only difference between Bic for Her and regular Bic pens is that they’re pink or purple, and come in a packet labelled Bic for Her.

In order to create a fair comparison we even looked for pens that seemed to be targeting men, such as the “Velocity” line previously released by Bic, which is designed with an “extra-wide, contoured, rubberised grip” as opposed to the ladies’ smaller, “soft contoured grip.”

And, to test these findings in the real-world, we took a field trip to Staples. At Staples you can find the Bic for Her retractable ball pen for a slight discount, a pack of two for $4.99, while the Velocity retractable ball pen, pack of four, is $3.99. The cost of the Bic for Her is still 150 per cent higher.

A spokesperson from Bic told us:

“Bic’s pens are priced according to the features of the product. For example, Bic’s best seller is the Bic Round Stic. Other pens like ‘Atlantis’ and the ‘Bic For Her’ range offer other features, like coloured barrels, textured grips, etc.”

The take-away: If you are insistent about only using the Bic for Her pens, then get the Cristal for Her in black, with just a little glitter on the pen casing. It’s the best deal Bic offers in overpriced women’s pens.